Kissing Another Pair of Lips
by NarglesandNightlock
Summary: She was sweeter than the strawberries that she loved, and no matter how much he wanted her to be alive she would remain dead. Gadge. AU. Spoilers for all books. Please R


**Hello everyone. This is my new story, mainly Gadge but may include some Everlark at a later stage. It's set after the war, slightly AU, for now it's all going to be in Gale's POV but that may change. Anything in italics is a flash back. Please review, it only takes a little time and means a lot to me. Enjoy****!**

**Chapter 1**

Since Madge's death everything around me reminds me of her, even though I couldn't be further away from anything to do with her-here in District 2. Yet, the baby blue sky on hot days resembles her sparkling, blue eyes and the girl walking down the street with her pretty white dress brings up memories of the day that it all began. It was the start of many other things too; the war, a new Panem, but to me it is also the start of me and Madge.

* * *

_There she is standing in the meadow, blonde hair trailing down her back, long white sleeves pushed up to her elbows. She kisses her fingers and arranges them in the three fingered salute just as the tribute train rushes by. I sigh and Madge spins on her heel to face me, she tenses when she sees that it's me. Her eyes narrow for a second but then she slumps her shoulders in defeat. "You know, Gale, n____othing seems to matter now, you were wrong about my chances in the games. Prim had less slips than me and now Katniss and Peeta are both gone," she clasps her hands together, "None of us did anything to deserve this_."

_"I'm sorry, Madge, I really am. __You're right, besides Madge I'm only frustrated at what's happening." Everything's even worse than it was before, the odds are worse and it's not just starvation Katniss is up against__. There's every chance that she could do it but I'm afraid she feels indebted to Mellark. But at the same time Katniss would never leave Prim and I can only hope that that is enough to overcome whatever debt she has to repay. _

_The thought of Prim reminds of what I came to do, hunt. Both for the food and to take my mind off everything. I came here as soon as I said goodbye to Katniss, and I guess Madge must have done the same. The meadow probably offers her a place of calm like the forest does for me. "Well I guess I should go now, I want to get some hunting done before it gets dark." I tell her and head into the trees. _

_But before I can disappear into the cover of the leaves Madge has grabbed my arm. When I turn to face her she looks away shyly. "I was wondering if I could come with you, I'll help. I just don't want to be alone and I don't think I can face my father, he wouldn't understand." _

_I have to consider it but after a while I nod, "As long as you're quiet and you don't get in the way." _

* * *

I sit on the couch in the small apartment building I was issued as part of my job new in District 2, trying to remove the painful memory from my mind. I work as part of a new program thats one and only purpose is to reconstruct the country. I work with Beetee to make new ways to keep the peace without violence. There are still areas of District 1 and 4 that are still against the rebels but there's honestly not much they can do now. Sometimes I'm called to meetings where Paylor and other authorities discuss new laws. Peeta was mentioned once, his doctor as invited to the meeting and they discussed his going back to District 12.

God I miss home, but I know District 12 no longer bears any resemblance to the place where I grew up. And I try not to think of home because that leads to thinking about Katniss and that overwhelms me with guilt. Not just because of Prim but because of Madge. I feel like in some way that I tricked Katniss. I truly did love her, but I had feelings for Madge at the same time. But they're both gone from my life, one hates me and the other's...dead. The night the bombs rained down I tried my very best to save her from the fire but I couldn't get to her in time. I watched from the meadow as her house burned to the ground. All through the rest of the war I tried to trick myself into thinking that she could have escaped, but I know now that they found her body lying in the ashes.

Nightmares find me while I sleep that night and I wake in cold sweat, at first the nightmares were almost bearable, bittersweet memories of Madge. Flashes of her face, the peace expressed on her face in the meadow, the way her eyebrows knit in anxiousness the first time I took her to the hob, how her eyes crinkle when she laughs and her entire face lights up, the utter terror in her eyes that I knew was mirrored in mine as Katniss ran from the flames.

But then I had to watch Madge's house burn to the ground again, except this time I could hear her screams. And the next thing Madge was back, but this time she was furious, her nostrils flared and she accused me of using her as a replacement when I knew Katniss was lost to me. Guilt shot through me but I knew deep down that what she was saying is not true. And then Prim appeared next to Madge and I know that anything Prim says I can't deny. I myself don't even know which side dropped the bomb and it haunts me. Sweet little Prim is gone and it could be my fault. The war has left me scarred and I'm terrified that I'm not the same person I was before everything.

I lie awake staring through the windows at the stars for hours until finally the sun rises. Today is the first day I've been given the day off and I honestly haven't a clue what to do with myself. I'm worried that people will recognise me and ask questions so I keep to the quieter streets, wandering around aimlessly. But soon the sight of the evergreen forest to the north sends me hurrying home to fetch my bow, a quiver and wire for snares. Stalking through the woods brings me some peace and any extra food will help the village.

I stumble upon a small clearing with a pond in the centre of it. When I realise what the plants growing around it are I gasp. Strawberries, Madge loved them, we would spend hours gathering them from the patch Katniss and I put nets around. I spend a while picking them and then I sit in the clearing soaking up the sun's light and eating them one by one. I'm about to finish the last few when I hear rustling behind me.

In a flash I'm kneeling with my bow drawn and pointed in the direction of the noise. I wait and I wait but nothing happens, so bow still drawn I creep forward. And lying there concealed between a bush and the trunk of a tree, battered and bloodied is someone I never thought I'd see again.


End file.
